FROM ACORN TO OAK – THE LIFE OF AN OAK TREE

 

 

When we lost our oak tree this past spring, it very literally left an empty space in our yard and left me with a broken heart.  It also left me with the beginning of an opportunity to learn about just how lucky an acorn was that it would grow into an actual tree. Like baby alligators that have a 1% survival rate in the wild, the little acorn embarks on a long and hazardous journey when it drops to the ground.

It might find itself under a litter of leaves, or perhaps it has found shelter in a hollowed out, fallen log.  Or, if it is very lucky, perhaps it has fallen in a garden.  If it survives being food for woodland creatures, it tucks in and busily sends out embryonic roots into the soil to anchor the plant.  Then the search for water begins.  All through its first winter, this root holds the acorn in place in its safe ground.

In the spring, the moisture of the ground will swell the root and crack open the acorn shell.  It is in this first spring that the future oak’s first shoot erupts to the surface.  The root continues to provide food for the seedlings for longs months, even after the first true leaves are developed.  When the seedling is strong enough to survive on its own, the embryonic roots will fall away.

It can take 20-30 years for an oak to produce its first acorns but in the early years, production is not consistent.  With maturity, the tree finally settles into regular production with the acorns dropping in the fall.  At 10 years an oak will be anywhere from 10 – 20 feet depending on its location, food reliability and sufficiency of sunlight. 

 

Our tree, before it was lost to lightning, ground termites, and a 35mph gust of wind, was about 35 feet high.  It was a mature tree when Don walked passed it, on the way to school 60 plus years ago. It was one of the determining factors in buying our house in 2017 and for a short period of time, we enjoyed its sheltering branches.

 

Oak trees develop all over the world and even though they may vary widely in appearance, they have one thing in common – the humble acorn.  In the Midwest, it is difficult for oak seedlings to mature.  Competition from invasive plants like buckthorn crowd them out and block the sunlight.  So, it is indeed the lucky acorn that finds purchase in a garden and is recognized as a winter survivor ready to be protected as it grows into a mighty oak providing food and homes for birds and squirrels and shade for the humans that nurtured them.